Restaurants

Baby Wearing Me Out

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Although Edie slept beautifully this morning I was still in need of a little pick me up so I whipped up a 5 Sparrow Snow Ghost Frappe* made with Chameleon Cold-Brew. The frappe tasted just like something you could pick up at a coffee house for an arm and a leg but it was made at a fraction of the cost at home with unsweetened almond milk. I sucked this back quick and I am looking forward to trying the other flavors that 5 Sparrow have including the chai.

After enjoying my coffee frappe I spent the remainder of the day nursing a baby who just couldn’t eat enough; today was one of those challenging nursing days.  When I was finally able to take a quick break and Neil was able to have a little daddy-daughter time I whipped up two big salads for Neil and I for lunch.

Ingredients:

leftover potato-summer squash-chickpea hash

radishes

heirloom tomatoes

greens

shredded cabbage

red onion

mushrooms

Drew’s Roasted Garlic & Peppercorn Salad Dressing for me and Lemon Goddess Salad Dressing for him

After lunch I was back at my nursing station on the couch for a few more hours.  In between feedings I was able to get a little bit of work done on the computer and played with Edie when she wasn’t fussing to eat or needing to be changed (we went through so many diapers today!).

As a snack I decided to try a Good ‘n Natural bar but after one bite (that I couldn’t finish) it ended up in the trash bin; the texture and flavor was awful.  Neil tried the other two flavors that we had but after a small bite of each he came to the same conclusion- they were all awful.  So instead I had a KIT’s ORGANIC bar instead which I already knew was tasty.

Once Neil finished up working for the day (he is working from home this week and next) we decided to head downtown to the local wine shop to pick up a few bottles of wine and use our Living Social deal. When we arrived downtown we put Edie in the Boba wrap and she fell asleep instantly so we headed to the wine shop and picked up two bottles of red and a beer for a gift.  Since Edie was still sleeping peacefully we decided to stop into American Flatbread for a beer. I had a 6oz pour of Juhlia which is a sahti (for you beer geeks) and Neil had a pint of the TLA IPA (and about 1.5oz of my Juhlia because it was a high alcohol beer).  It was amazing to sit outside and enjoy a beer with Neil while Edie just slept peacefully.

This evening I bathed Edie and put her to bed while Neil made dinner (veggie burgers and homemade baked potato “chips”).  Now it’s time to sit back, relax and watch a few shows on Netflix before heading to bed.

Today on Naturally Family check out our post on our DIY Nursery Art.

Disclaimer: 5 Sparrow provided me with their product at no cost. I was under no obligation to review them if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway.

Weekend Wrap Up: Good Eats & a Giveaway (Closed)

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If you are looking for the giveaway you’ll just go nuts about scroll down! 

This weekend Neil and I were fairly busy and it seems that things aren’t going to be slowing down anytime soon!  We started the weekend off with a homemade Mexican pizza (recipe to come tomorrow) which was absolutely delicious.

Here it is all fixed up with a sprinkle of baby arugula, fresh tomatoes and sour supreme.  We enjoyed our slices, went for a walk and settled on the couch to watch a few shows.

Saturday morning I got up bright and early to bake up a batch of Babycakes gluten free Pumpkin Spice Muffins for our early morning birthing class.  Around 8:30 our birthing class teacher arrived (we are taking private classes) and we served up coffee, muffins and fruit before starting our four hours of class. In other news our birthing class teacher is also a doula and last week after doing a bunch of reading Neil and I made a last minute decision to hire a doula for the birth.  I checked with Sarah (our birth coach) to see if she had any July openings and she did so after our class we decided to hire her to be our doula (she is really wonderful and so comfortable to be around).  I’ll discuss more of this doula talk in Thursday’s update post.

After our four plus hours of birthing class Neil and I were so hungry we decided to use up the remaining homemade dough and make another small pizza for lunch and then I passed out for a few hours.  When I finally woke up Neil was going a little stir crazy and was ready to get out of the house so we decided to have a date night downtown including window shopping, drinks (beer for him and water for me) and dinner out at A Single Pebble <–Neil had a gift card from work so free (almost) dinner for us! After dinner we headed home and cuddled on the couch while watching the remainder of the Yankees game, we should have just gone to bed though such a bad game.

Sunday we enjoyed a lazy morning before heading out for brunch with friends that we hadn’t seen since last July.  We spent over two hours enjoying food, conversation and having tons of belly laughs at Duino Duende.  It was so nice not to have a rushed meal and really enjoy the company.  After brunch we rean a few errands, took a nap, Neil did a training run and I watched House Hunters International.

While Neil finished up his run I made dinner of arugula walnut pesto with peas and white beans, a side of kale and leftover tofu from dinner at A Single Pebble.  After dinner we went for a stroll and then relaxed on the couch. What did you do this weekend?

Now that you’ve read my weekend recap keep scrolling and you’ll find a great giveaway! 

Review and Giveaway: Doug’s Nuts

A few weeks ago Doug’s Nuts sent me a few complimentary bags of their nuts to try out and ever since then I have been in love.  When I first open the nuts I am expecting them to be sugary based on their shiny coating but they were super mild and really delicious.  They are coated with a flavorful glaze consisting of organic evaporated sugarcane juice, honey, oatmeal stout beer <– my husband saw beer and had to try them immediately, sea salt, organic vanilla extract, and other natural flavors. In the mix are roasted almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, and pumpkin seeds (the hazelnuts and pecans are my favorites).

I unfortunately finished off my two pouches pretty quickly (time to get some more I guess!)  but boy where they good.  I enjoyed them over soy yogurt, by the palm-full and my favorite way as a topping for apple “nachos”.  What are apple nachos? Simply thinly sliced apples (I use my mandolin) drizzled with almond butter and topped with a sprinkling of Doug’s Nuts and a few mini chocolate chips for good measure.

Giveaway Details- Open Until Friday May 11th at 8pm EST: CLOSED

  • Doug’s Nuts will provide and ship one 6-pack of Doug’s Nuts to the winner ($30 + shipping costs value) – OPEN TO US RESIDENTS ONLY
Winner:

To enter:

  • Visit the Doug’s Nuts and come back and leave a comment letting me know something that you have learned. (Mandatory)
Additional Entries: (Leave a separate entry for each)
  • Follow Doug’s Nuts on Twitter
  • Follow Running With Tongs on Twitter
  • Tweet “I’d go nuts to win @runwithtongs @dougsnuts giveaway http://wp.me/pFVWo-3fL”

The Last Getaway: Part Three

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After our busy morning in Freeport we settled in for a nap before heading out to Soakology. Soakology is a foot sanctuary and teahouse in Portland that Neil and I came across a few years ago and absolutely loved our experience there and have been dying to go back since. Last year we couldn’t fit it into our visit but we made sure to call ahead and make appointments this year.

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When we arrived we checked in and chose our foot soaks from a pretty extensive selection.  I was told due to pregnancy I could not do any that had rosemary and there was one specific detox one that was not suitable for pregnant woman; I loved how informative and knowledgeable the staff was! Neil decided to go with a rosemary, seaweed and tea tree soak that was described as being good for runners and bikers and I went with the chai and fig soak which sounds as luscious as it was.

While we waited to head downstairs to the soaking room we looked over the tea and treats menu.  We both decided to go with iced tea, ginger peach for me and ginger mint for him.  We were also a little hungry so we ordered the Mediterranean Plate which had hummus, olives, pita and veggies; it was fantastic!

Unfortunately I couldn’t take any shots of us actually getting our feet soaked or of the downstairs soaking room but I can tell you it was just as amazing as I remember.  We were seated in these big comfy chairs that are elevated off the floor and we were given these wonderful warm scented shoulder/neck pads as we slipped our feet into giant bowls of soaking water that had little smooth stones in the bottom to run your feet across.  We sat back, relaxed and enjoyed our soak, tea and snack.  Honestly, when we first went here we were a little skeptical about just getting the foot soak (you can also get food scrubs, massages, and upper body massages as well) but we were both pleasantly surprised at just how relaxing it was to sit back with your feet in a nice bowl of soaking liquid.  Appointments are about an hour long and during that time they come through and offer you more hot water to reheat your soaking liquid.  This is one of my “must do in Portland” activities and I hope we are able to do it again soon.

After our relaxing foot soak we decided to head out to Portland Head Lighthouse and Two Lights (two other lighthouses), both of which I hadn’t been to in many years and Neil had never been to.  Although the temperature started to get a little cool it was a beautiful night and we took full advantage of it.

After taking over 300 photos and enjoying some time by the water we headed to Silly’s Restaurant for dinner. We had never been to Silly’s, but since it was known for being vegan friendly and for having veggie burgers (what we both were in the mood for) we decided to give it a try.

The menu is huge at Silly’s and although we had gone there on a mission for veggie burgers we ended up having a hard time deciding on what to order.  We finally settled on two items to share:

The Zombie burger A veggie burger, vegan mozz, spinach, onion, tomato, spicy sauce, pineapple & jalapenos on griddled garlic bread with fries Buffalo Fries. We decided to swap out the regular fries for buffalo fries (fries tossed with hot sauce) and served with a creamy spicy vegan sauce.  The burger was homemade and delicious! We were both also pleasantly surprised that the pineapple was not overpowering (our only concern).

We also shared the ZoomaZoom (vegan) Falafel with spicy vegan spread, spinach, lettuce, tomato, onion and black olives.  This was really tasty as well and the perfect companion to the Zombie Burger.  While the Zombie Burger and fries was a little heavier the ZoomaZoom was much lighter; the perfect combination for sharing.

After dinner we headed to Whole Foods (again) and I picked up a kiddie sized chocolate sorbet for dessert and Neil got himself a local beer to bring back to the hotel to try.  We spent the remainder of the night looking at the photos from our day and relaxing.

Sunday was all about picking up groceries and our favorite goodies from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s before heading home.  We stopped in North Conway to do a little more outlet shopping, where I found another maxi dress from Banana Republic on sale from $100 for only $30! Then we had lunch at Moat Mountain before finally heading straight home where we settled in on the couch to relax.

We had the perfect last getaway before the baby’s arrival and I couldn’t be happier.

The Last Getaway: Part One

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This past weekend Neil and I headed out for our last getaway before the baby arrives. For the past 3 years we have gone to Portland Maine for our anniversary but since this year Neil is running the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon and I’ll be 34 weeks pregnant we decided to make our trip a month early. Initially we had planned to stay Saturday night but then decided to head to Maine after work on Friday night, but then we woke up Friday morning and decided to take a spontaneous vacation day from work and we headed out early- best decision ever.

We got on the road and made it to Concord New Hampshire just around lunch time so we decided to stop into Cafe Indigo a vegan bakery and cafe. Neil and I decided to share two different items and a cookie- it is a bakery after all. We shared the Veggie Cakes Cafe Indigo‘s version of crab cakes with tartar sauce, cornbread and slaw (my choice) and a Falafel Burger on a whole wheat bun with a lemon tahini sauce, slaw and blue corn chips (Neil’s choice). I thought the Veggie Cakes were really tasty and the tartar sauce was delicious, I have to say though the tempeh crab cakes from Vegan Brunch are closer to what I imagine Crab Cakes to taste like. Neil really liked the falafel burger but I wasn’t a huge fan of it, I thought it would have been better in a wrap than on a roll and it was a little dry. We both enjoyed the cornbread and the slaw but we didn’t really touch the blue corn chips. The best part of the meal was the ginger cookie- AMAZING.

Next stop on our journey was to Whole Foods to pick up an iced coffee for Neil and an Arnold Palmer for me before  making it to the 3pm brewery tour at Allagash.  There is really nothing more depressing than watching a group of people sample a (four) wonderful brews and having to stand there and watch it all happen.  Neil enjoyed the samples and then we took a walking tour of the brewery.  Since I couldn’t partake we picked up a bottle of Allagash Old HLT, a sour cherry beer, to share later this summer. Although I couldn’t enjoy the samples it was one of the best tours that we have been on and would recommend it to everyone. Tip: you can call ahead to be put on the list for the tour as I imagine they fill up fast!

After the tour we checked into our hotel and then I decided that it was time to take a nap before dinner. We walked downtown from our hotel (rather up a giant hill) to Green Elephant, a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Portland. I have been a number of times and Neil has been once before and we have always enjoyed it. We lucked out and arrived just moments before the dinner rush, although it is worth the wait.

We started off with the Fresh Rolls-Lettuce, carrots, avocado, rice vermicelli, and mint wrapped in rice paper, served with peanut sauce, they were wonderful.  For our entrees Neil ordered the Crispy Breaded Soy Filet stir-fried Chinese broccoli, Chinese broccoli carrots and thai bird chili in a brown sauce.  I stole a few bites (of course) and I have to say that this is now one of my favorite dishes I have had at Green Elephant.

For my entree I couldn’t decided on what I wanted (too many choices) so I decided to get a soup and an appetizer.  I ordered the Fragrant Coconut Soup with tofu & baby bella Mushroom, cherry tomatoes, onion, scallion, and cilantro and Roti Canai an Indian style pancake. with vegetable curry dip.  This was my first time having the soup and it was so tasty, I didn’t love the tomatoes in it but otherwise it was great.  The roti is an old favorite of mine and it was just as food as I remembered.

After dinner we decided to stop into Local 188 for an after dinner mock-cocktail and brew. Neil ordered a local microbrew (I can’t remember the name) and I had a virgin Basil Lemonade, which was amazing and I have to replicate it at home!

After drinks we headed back to the hotel to rest up for a busy Saturday. Stay tuned!

Instagram Date Night at El Cortijo

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Neil and I have always made date night a priority of ours but ever since we found out that we are expecting it has become even more important.  We are trying to savor the last moments of our life as a family of two, while we prepare and get excited for our future as a family of three. Lately we have been trying to come up with ideas for date night that are things that are more challenging to do with a baby and last night was dining at a new small restaurant, El Cortijo. Now the restaurant wasn’t anything fancy and it was pretty kid friendly but the space is super limited and unless you can secure a booth there is no where to put a baby.

We looked over the menu and quickly asked about the vegan options and were directed to the taco special minus the crema and the vegan taco which was on the menu. We also ordered chips with salsa and guacamole, something I have been craving for weeks. The salsa was nice and fresh and the guacamole was the perfect balance of creamy and chunky.

To go along with our meal Neil ordered a beer and I lusted over the margaritas but ultimately ordered a Rookies Ginger Beer.

We munched on chips and chatted for awhile about work, the baby and our day before finally diving into the tacos, which of course we ate based on the instructions on the menu.

We both ordered one of the specials which had kale and quinoa on it and the vegan Camote taco which was filled with
organic sweet potatoes, braised kale, guajillo salsa, pepitas.  The Camote was our favorite-so good!

Following our dinner we headed over to Baby Gap to take advantage of the sale and picked up a few things for Bebe.  Then we headed home to relax before bed.

The End.

Up, Up and Away!

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Hello from Logan Airport! Hubz and I are currently awaiting our flight to Raleigh to meet my parents and head to Myrtle Beach (where I hear it is currently pouring). Until our flight we are hanging out, enjoying the free wi-fi and “enjoying” an airport breakfast of Starbucks oatmeal, OJ (for me), coffee (for him) and a fruit cup (to share).

REWIND!

Lets rewind a bit to Friday….

Friday afternoon started our Babymoon journey to Myrtle Beach by way of Boston, but first we had to stop into our midwife office for our mid-pregnancy ultrasound and appointment. We have a very active baby growing inside me and it took forever for the tech to get all the shots she needed but she finally got all the necessary shots and even caught a side profile for us. We did not catch a glimpse of the goods so we still have no idea what we are having. Well I mean we know it’s either a boy or a girl …we hope anyways. After our appointment we headed to Boston where we first stopped to have flatbread (our post appointment tradition) at Flatbread Company in Somerville. We ordered the vegan flatbread and it was good but we both agreed American Flatbread in Vermont is so much better. After dinner we checked into the Westin Copley Place where we passed out pretty quickly.

Saturday morning started off as it always does when we travel to Boston with bagels and lattes at our favorite spot- Espresso Royale on Newbury Street. We both ordered our favorite whole wheat everything bagels with veggie tofu spread and tomatoes (and sprouts for husband <--I miss sprouts so much!) and a decaf latte for me and an americano for him. We were so hungry that the bagels were gone before I could take a photo but I did shoot a quick pic of my beautiful and amazing latte.

After breakfast we took a walk around Newbury Street and the Prudential Center (actually that’s what we spent most of the day doing) and eventually we ended up at OMBE Boston for our massages. It felt wonderful to get a massage and just relax.

After our massage we strolled down Newbury Street and then stopped into my favorite college spot The Otherside Cafe where we shared a pot of tea and a big bowl of fruit with raw chocolate mousse.

After a little more shopping and strolling we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Estragon Tapas Bar where I actually purchased a Living Social deal for a few weeks back. I started with a virgin pineapple mojito which was amazing and for my second drink I asked the waiter if he could have the bartender make another virgin cocktail and he came back with this amazing ginger brew concoction that had caradmom, cinnamon, salt and one other thing I can’t remember.

The restaurant was dimly lit so I didn’t take any photos of the food but everything was so delicious! They have the vegetarian and vegan options labeled right on the menu which makes things so much easier. They have an amazing waitstaff, our water glasses were always full and our waiter attentive, friendly and knowledgeable.

We were tempted to go with the vegetarian paella but decided to try a variety of tapas, we had:

  • Garbanzos Fritos (VG) crispy paprika chickpeas
  • Puerros Con Romesco (VG) grilled leeks, romesco
  • Patatas Bravas (VG) feisty fried potatoes
  • Espinacas A La Catalana (VG) sauteed spinach, pine nuts, golden raisins
  • Pimientos Shishito (VG) blistered shishito peppers, sea salt
  • Esparragos Verdes (VG) Grilled Green Asparagus, Lemon Oil, Sea Salt

We really enjoyed all of the dishes but our favorites were the spinach and the leeks. I actually wasn’t really interested in the spinach but Neil insisted that we order it and I am so glad we did because it was AMAZING. I would really recommend trying this restaurant if you visit Boston.

Something To Celebrate

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Thursday gave the Hubz and I lots to celebrate, first off his 31st birthday and secondly he became a lawful permanent resident!*  After our stressful morning interview we headed home to look into taking a mini-getaway to celebrate.  We were supposed to be going here:

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We had planned months ago to run the Disney Half Marathon but due to Neil hitting his head we decided to defer our entry fees to the 2012 Disney Wine & Dine Half next November.  We also decided to cancel our trip all together due to the fact we had no idea when Neil would get the letter for us to go for his interview.  We did ended up keeping our flight down due to the fact that it would cost us more to cancel it- crazy right?– and debated heading to Florida last minute since our flight wasn’t until Thursday evening but ultimately decided not to go because flights home were outrageous.  So we went with Plan B which was a debate over Boston and New Haven but we ultimately decided to head to Saratoga Springs, NY (I know not Boston or New Haven) because it was closer and less expensive.

First things first though we packed and then headed out for a celebratory lunch at The Farmhouse per the birthday boys request and then we hit the road to Saratoga Springs.

I ended up getting a really great deal on Hotwire for the Holiday Inn Saratoga Springs which was conveniently located right downtown within walking distance to a ton of eateries and shops.  We checked in and headed to the room where we promptly took a nap.

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After our nap I did a little research on places to eat and ultimately the birthday boy decided he wanted to try Chianti Il Ristorante a nice Italian restaurant only a 10 minute walk from the hotel.  We walked in and I was instantly impressed by the decor of the restaurante and the friendly staff.  We were seated and took a quick look over the menu before inquiring about their vegan options, there were surprisingly a number of options and we lucked out because  our server was well informed and helpful in making our decision.

I apologize now for the poor iphone photos but they’re all I have.

We started with the PAPPA AL POMODORO CON FARRO a quick peasant style tomato and farro stew, olive oil and crushed crisp olive oil croutons.  This was easily our favorite dish, if I had known how amazing it was going to be I would have ordered myself a bowl for my entree.

 We enjoyed this dish with (too much) tasty fresh bread with balsamic and olive oil to dip in.

 For our main course we both decided to get the special which was the Spaghetti Dai Monti which was filled with oyster and shiitake mushrooms that were pan seared with garlic, olive oil, white wine and truffle oil.  We also ordered a side of sauteed spinach with garlic just to add something green to our meal. Both the pasta and the spinach were delicious and the portions were huge so we ended up taking half our meals to go, but left just enough room for dessert, a nice bowl of lemon and coconut sorbets.

After our dinner walked back to the hotel and took a dip in the pool then it was off to bed for another fun filled day. (more to come)

Birthday Boy!

*I debated discussing our immigration journey on the blog but have  decided that somethings just need to be kept private however if you have any specific questions please feel free to e-mail me and I will answer your questions the best I can.